Portable blower

ABSTRACT

A portable blower capable of improving safety is provided. The blower is placed on a setting surface by support of the leg and is capable of holding an inclined position at a plurality of inclined angles to the setting surface. In addition, the blower includes a housing having an intake port and a discharge port opened on a lower surface and an upper surface thereof, respectively, an air passage connecting the intake port and the discharge port which are provided in the housing, and a blowing fan, and the outdoor air flows into the air passage from the intake port by driving of the blowing fan and is sent forth from the discharge port passing through the blowing fan.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/JP2012/060404 which has anInternational filing date of Apr. 18, 2012 and designated the UnitedStates of America.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a portable blower including a blowingfan provided in a portable housing.

2. Description of Related Art

A conventional portable blower is disclosed in a Japanese PatentLaid-Open Publication No. 2008-57519. The portable blower includes anintake port opened on a rear surface of a portable thin box-like housingand a discharge port opened on a front surface thereof. The housingincludes an air passage formed therein to connect the intake port andthe discharge port and a blowing fan which consists of an axial fan andis arranged in the air passage. Further, the housing is provided with astand pivotably attached to a side surface thereof. When an end of thepivotable stand abuts a setting surface of a desk, the housing can besupported by the stand to be erected on the desk.

When the blowing fan is driven with the housing erected on the settingsurface of the desk by the stand, outdoor air flows into the air passagefrom the intake port. At this time, as the rear surface of the housingis arranged to incline toward the setting surface, an airflow outflowingfrom the discharge port of the front surface is sent forth upward to ahead region etc. of a user. Therefore, it is possible to obtain coolnesseasily both outdoors and indoors.

SUMMARY

However, according to the conventional portable blower, there is aproblem in which the appearance of the blower is not good due to thestand being exposed to be directly seen from outside when the stand isnot used.

In order to achieve the object, a portable blower of the presentinvention includes: a blowing fan; a housing which houses the blowingfan; an intake port which is formed in the housing to suck air by theblowing fan; and a discharge port configured to emit the sucked air;wherein the portable blower comprises: a leg which is pivotablysupported on the housing so as to support the housing on a settingsurface; and a retracting section which is formed as a concave portionon the housing to retract the leg.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that theleg is configured to be pivoted at an angle of less than 180 degreesfrom a state retracted in the retracting section.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that theleg is configured to be pivoted at an angle of 90 degrees or more toless than 180 degrees from the state retracted in the retractingsection.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that, theleg is arranged so as not to block the intake port regardless of whetherthe leg is in the state retracted in the retracting section or not.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that theleg is arranged so as not to change an opening area of the intake portregardless of whether the leg is in the state retracted in theretracting section or not.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that anupper end portion of the leg is pivotably supported, and the portableblower includes: a gear provided in the upper end portion concentricallywith the leg, a shaft arranged between adjacent teeth of the gear, and aspring configured to bias the shaft in a direction where the shaft ispressed against the gear.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that, theretracting section is formed on a portion other than the intake port andthe discharge port.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that, theleg is formed in a U shape and each of open ends thereof is pivotablysupported, and when the leg is retracted in the retracting section, theintake port is positioned at the opening end side with respect to thebase portion of the leg.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that theupper end portion of the leg is pivotably supported, and the intake portis formed on an opposite side of the upper end portion with respect tothe retracting section.

The portable blower of the present invention characterized in that theupper end portion of the leg is pivotably supported, and the upper endportion is positioned between the intake port and the discharge port ina blowing direction of the blowing fan.

In the portable blower of the present invention, the portable blower isprovided with a standing leg which can have the portable blowerinstalled on the desk and the leg is pivotably supported at asubstantially center in a longer direction of a body, so that theopening/closing angles of the leg can increase.

In addition, since the leg is configured to be retracted in theretracting section of the body so as to be appeared integrally with thebody in appearance when the leg is not used, the aesthetic appearancethereof may be maintained.

Further, since the leg is configured so as to make consideration for notblocking the intake port either when the leg is used or retracted, theblowing performance may be not largely influenced by the posture of theportable blower.

According to the present invention, since the housing has the retractingsection formed thereon as a concave portion for retracting the leg, theaesthetic appearance of the blower can be achieved.

In addition, since the blower is provided with the leg for installing onthe desk, it is possible to carry the blower, as well as use it, suchthat it is placed on the desk.

Further, since the leg is configured to be retracted in the body whilethe intake port is not blocked by the leg even when the leg isretracted, it is possible to sufficiently provide the blowingperformance when using the blower placed on the desk and when using theblower hung from a neck.

The above and further objects and features will more fully be apparentfrom the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an outer appearance of a portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating the outer appearance of the portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating the outer appearance of the portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating the portable blower of thepresent invention with a leg closed;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configurationof the portable blower cut away by a center line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A is a plan view illustrating an example of the shape of the legof the portable blower of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a side view illustrating the example of the shape of the legof the portable blower of the present invention;

FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view illustrating the example of the shapeof the leg of the portable blower of the present invention taken on lineC-C;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a desk-installed state 1 of the portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a desk-installed state 2 of the portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a desk-installed state 3 of the portableblower of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a rear view illustrating an outer appearance of a portableblower according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11A is a plan view illustrating the shape of a leg of the portableblower according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11B is a side view illustrating the shape of the leg of theportable blower according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating anouter appearance of a portable blower 1 of the present invention. Theportable blower 1 includes a thin box-like housing 2 of substantiallyrectangular shape as seen from the front, which is formed in a portablesize of about 100 mm in length, 80 mm in width, and 25 mm in thicknessas an example. In FIG. 1, a discharge port 7 is formed on an upper endportion of the housing 2 and an intake port 6 is formed on a lower endportion thereof, although hidden in FIG. 1 (see FIG. 2).

In addition, the housing 2 includes a front (a face side) case 2 a witha display unit 4 mounted thereon. The display unit 4 displays operationinformation of the portable blower 1 using a display means such as anLED or the like. Further, it is preferable that an operation condition,an operation time, an accumulated operation time, and a residual amountof a battery are displayed using a display means such as an LED, aliquid crystal or the like.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating the outer appearance of the portableblower 1 of the present invention, and shows a leg 3 in a closed state.The housing 2 includes a rear (a back side) case 2 b which is positionedon a side opposite to the front case 2 a to form an external section ofthe housing 2 by engaging with the front case 2 a. The leg 3 is asubstantially U-shaped bar, and both ends thereof are pivotablysupported on both sides of the housing 2 in a body central portion whena direction linking the discharge port 7 formed at the upper end portionand the intake port 6 formed on the lower end portion is defined as alongitudinal direction of the housing to be described below. The housing2 has a retracting section 2 f formed on a portion of the rear case 2 bother than the intake port 6 thereof as a groove-shaped recess toretract the leg. Therefore, the leg 3 is retracted in a lower portion ofthe rear case in a vertical direction (a lower half section) when not inuse.

Rotation axes of the leg 3 are provided in substantially the center leftand right in the vertical direction of the rear case 2 b, so that theleg 3 can be pivoted at an angle of less than 180° as seen from aretracted state. The leg 3 can be held at a plurality of open angles, sothat the housing 2 can be supported at various angles by the leg 3 inthe open state. Therefore, the portable blower 1 may be placed on thesetting surface of the desk in any erected-shape to be described below.As a result, the leg 3 forms a support unit for supporting the housing 2during when the portable blower 1 is placed on the setting surface ofthe desk.

The intake port 6 for sucking outer air is formed on the lower endportion of the rear case 2 b in the lower portion of the housing 2. Anet is attached to the intake port 6 to prevent suction of dust. Theintake port 6 is designed to be seen from outside of the rear case 2 bside at all times, so as to suck air without being affected by theopening and closing of the leg 3.

The front case 2 a and the rear case 2 b consisting the housing 2 areformed in a curved surface over the vertical and horizontal directions,and a curved surface having a large radius is provided on a portionwhich corresponds to the ridge line of a conventional housing (see FIGS.1, 3, 4 and the like). Therefore, the portable blower 1 has no clearridge line compared to the conventional housing formed in a rectangularparallelepiped shape. By this configuration, the housing 2 is formed ina largely swollen shape on a central portion in a thickness directionthereof.

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating the outer appearance of the portableblower 1 according to the present invention, and the discharge port 7 isopened on the top surface of the external section formed by the frontcase 2 a and the rear case 2 b. The discharge port 7 is provided with adischarge grid 2 d in the opening thereof, and the discharge port 7 ofthe opening is formed in the largely deviated state toward the frontcase 2 a. Since the housing 2 is formed in the curved surface having alarge radius and the discharge port 7 is biased to the front case 2 aside, when the portable blower 1 is directly placed on the desk etc., orusing the blower hung from a neck without using the leg 3, it ispossible to keep a distance between a contact surface such as the deskor a human body and a central portion of the discharge port 7.Therefore, the air can be flowed well without being disturbed.

FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating the portable blower 1 of thepresent invention with the leg closed, wherein a side cover 2 c isprovided with a power switch 5. If the power switch 5 is located in the[ON] position, a blowing fan 17 and an ion generator 18 shown in FIG. 5starts to operate by a power applied thereto. Then, the display unit 4displays operation status, as well as the operation information such asan ion generating condition of the ion generator 18, the residual amountof a battery 19 (see FIG. 5) or the like.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configurationof the portable blower 1 cut away by a center line A-A of FIG. 1. Therear case 2 b includes isolated cavities 22 b and 22 c formed therein tohouse the ion generator 18 and the battery 19, respectively. A controlboard 15 with a control circuit of the portable blower 1 mounted thereonis attached inside of the rear case 2 b. Notch sections are formed ineach of the isolated cavities 22 b and 22 c, and a terminal portion 15 afacing toward the isolated cavity 22 b storing the ion generator 18 andthe isolated cavity 22 c storing the battery 19 is connected with acontrol board 15. The ion generator 18 and the battery 19 housed in eachof the isolated cavities 22 b and 22 c are connected with the controlcircuit through the terminal portion 15 a.

In addition, the blowing fan 17 is provided between the control board 15and the front case 2 a. The blowing fan 17 is received onto a bosserected from the rear case 2 b through a vibration absorbing rubber. Theblowing fan 17 may be a double face suction-type turbofan, and two airintake ports (not shown) of the blowing fan 17 opened in an axialdirection of a fan housing are arranged in the thickness direction ofthe housing 2, respectively. In this configuration, the sucked air canbe flowed and supplied through two passage including a passage in whichthe air sucked from the intake port 6 passes through a gap between thecontrol board 15 and the blowing fan 17, and a passage in which the airpasses through a gap 25 between the front case 2 a and the blowing fan17.

Since one sucking passage passes through a gap between the control board15 and the isolated cavity 22 c, the air flowing therein cools each ofthe bottom walls of the control board 15 and the isolated cavity 22 cand indirectly cools the battery 19. In addition, since the othersucking passage bypasses a side of the control board 15 and leads to thegap 25 with the front case 2 a, the air flowing therein cools thecontrol board 15.

Further, an air passage 8 is formed inside the front case 2 a andcovered with a partition panel 22 connecting the blowing fan 17 and thedischarge port 7. The partition panel 22, which is a wall body having asubstantially U-shaped cross-section, forms the air passage 8 incombination with the bottom wall of the isolated cavity 22 b. Therefore,the air flowing in the air passage 8 cools the bottom wall of theisolated cavity 22 b and indirectly cools the ion generator 18.

In addition, a straightening guide (not shown) for straightening theblowing airflow is provided on the bottom wall of the isolated cavity 22b toward the air passage 8. The straightening guide is a plurality ofplates erected on the bottom wall of the isolated cavity 22 b and servesto increase the surface area of the isolated cavity 22 b to efficientlycool the isolated cavity 22 b.

Further, an attaching portion 2 h having an attaching hole for attachinga neck strap is provided on the upper end portion of the rear case 2 boutside of the housing 2. Therefore, it is possible to carry theportable blower 1 by connecting the neck strap to the attaching portion2 h and hanging it from the neck of a user.

Next, a configuration of the leg 3 will be described. FIGS. 6A, 6B and6C are a plan view, a side view and a cross-sectional view taken on lineC-C for illustrating an example of the shape of the leg 3 of theportable blower 1 of the present invention, respectively. As shown inFIGS. 6A to 6C, the leg 3 is formed in a substantially U shape and has aleg body portion 3 c with a triangle-shaped cross-section. The leg 3 ispivotably supported on the housing 2 by a hinge mechanism. Two openingend portions of the leg are positioned between the intake port 6 and thedischarge port 7 in a blowing direction of the blowing fan 17. The hingemechanism of the leg 3 includes gears 3 a and 3 b which are provided inthe two opening end portions of the leg which face each other as a latchstructure, and tension springs (not shown). In FIG. 2, the gears 3 a and3 b are integrally provided in both opening end portions of the U-shapedleg 3 and each of left and right ends thereof is inserted intopenetration holes formed on both sides of the rear case 2 b to bepivotably supported thereon. The gears 3 a and 3 b include a pluralityof teeth formed along the entire circumference of the axis portions ofthe leg 3. Shafts (not shown) are arranged between the adjacent teeth ofthe gears. The tension spring forms a pressing means whose one end ishooked to the shaft and the other end is hooked to a boss erected on therear case 2 b to bias the shaft in a direction where the shaft ispressed against the gear.

When the gears 3 a and 3 b integrally rotate by the rotation of the leg3, the shaft moves in a direction of the tooth end of the gears 3 a and3 b against the pressing force of the tension spring. Then, the shaft isrelatively moved in a circumferential direction between the teeth, andthereby the opening/closing angles of the leg 3 can be limited. By this,it is possible to hold (limit) the leg 3 at any appropriate angle lessthan 180° in combination with the shape of the retracting section 2 f ofthe housing 2. Therefore, the leg 3 can be held at any angle state, andwhen the blower is placed on the setting surface of the desk, the rearcase 2 b of the housing 2 can hold the position at any angle facing thesetting surface.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8 to be described below, when the rearsurface of the housing 2 faces the desk by largely opening the leg 3 toabout 160° in relation to 0° at the time of the retracting, the portableblower 1 holds a low position, thereby it is possible to emit airflow atan elevation angle of about 10° as shown by an arrow A3. Further, asshown in FIG. 9 to be described below, when the blower is placed so asto lower the discharge port 7 by narrowly opening the leg 3 to about40°, it is possible to emit airflow downward about 15° as shown by thearrow A3 and to send the airflow to a user at bedtime while the bloweris placed on a headboard of a bed (a plate which is in a head portion ofthe bed). In this embodiment, the blower is configured to limit theopening angle of the leg to about 40° each, however the opening anglemay be appropriately determined by design. Further, it is not necessaryto make the angle adjustment equiangular.

Next, the intake port 6 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and5, the intake port 6 is formed on the lower end portion of the rear case2 b. The retracting section 2 f of a concave shape is formed on thelower end portion and both side end portions of the rear case 2 b toretract the leg 3. Therefore, the leg 3 is laid along an outer wallsurface so as not to damage the outer appearance of the rear case 2 b atthe time of retracting.

In addition, the rear case 2 b is provided with a lid 2 g in a portionfacing the above-mentioned isolated cavities 22 b and 22 c detachably soas to open (expose) the isolated cavities 22 b and 22 c and exchange thebattery 19 and the ion generator 18. A gap is formed between an interiorface of the leg 3 while it is retracted in the retracting section 2 fand a lower end face of the lid 2 g so as to ensure the airflow suckingthrough the intake port 6 as shown by an arrow A1.

The intake port 6 is formed on the lower end portion of the rear case 2b corresponding to the gap. That is, when the leg 3 is retracted in theretracting section 2 f, the position of the intake port 6 is defined onthe opening end side with respect to a base portion (a closed end of theU shape) of the leg 3. Therefore, even if the leg 3 is retracted in theretracting section 2 f (see FIG. 5), the airflow can be always ensuredwithout closing the intake port 6.

The leg 3 maintains a prescribed distance from both the rear case 2 band the lower end of the lid 2 g to provide the gap between both partsand the leg 3 in the closed state (the retracted state). Since the gapis provided over the full width of the leg 3, the opening area of theintake port 6 remains the same either when the leg 3 is closed oropened.

As mentioned above, it is possible to acquire blowing performance of theblowing fan 17 either when the leg 3 is used or not used.

Herein, the intake port 6 is formed on the lower end portion of the rearcase 2 b corresponding to the retracting section 2 f. Therefore, asshown in FIG. 5, the intake port 6 is formed in a portion which isfurther concave with respect to the setting surface of the rear case 2b. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, even when the lid 2 g is placed on thesetting surface of the desk, the intake port 6 is never closed. Thereby,it is possible to ensure the airflow in the intake port 6 at all times.

Next, the ion generator 18 mounted on the portable blower 1 will bedescribed. The ion generator 18 arranged in the isolated cavity 22 b hasa plurality of electrodes (not shown) facing toward the air passage 8.The ion generator 18 includes a high voltage electricity generatingcircuit embedded therein to be operated by the power received from thebattery 19. The high voltage electricity generating circuit applies ahigh voltage including an AC waveform or impulse waveform to theelectrodes. The ion generator 18 has a plurality of dischargeelectrodes. When a positive voltage is applied to one dischargeelectrode and an ion generated by ionization is coupled with moisture inthe air, a positive cluster of ions is formed mainly including H+(H₂O)m.Meanwhile, when a negative voltage is applied to another dischargeelectrode and an ion generated by ionization is coupled with themoisture in the air, a negative cluster of ions is formed mainlyincluding O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n. Herein, m and n are any natural number.

When the positive ion H+(H₂O)m and the negative ion O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n aresimultaneously emitted into the air, these ions aggregate on surfaces offloating fungus and odorous substances in the air to surround them. Inaddition, as shown in formula (1) to (3), “.OH” of an active species(hydroxyl radical) and H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) are generated on thesurfaces of the floating fungus and odorous substances to destroy them.Herein, m′ and n′ are any natural number.

H⁺(H₂O)m+O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n→.OH+1/2O₂+(m+n)H₂O   (1)

H⁺(H₂O)m+H⁺(H₂O)m′+O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n+O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n′→2.OH+O₂+(m+m′+n+n′)H₂O   (2)

H⁺(H₂O)m+H⁺(H₂O)m′+O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n+O₂ ⁻(H₂O)n′→H ₂O₂+O₂ ⁺(m+m′+n+n′)H₂O   (3)

FIG. 7 illustrates a desk-installed state 1 of the portable blower 1 ofthe present invention. If the blower is put on the setting surface ofthe desk by opening the leg 3 to a desired angle, the housing 2 iserected on the desk by the support of the leg 3. When the power switch 5is turned on, the blowing fan 17 and the ion generator 18 are driven. Bydriving the blowing fan 17, the outer air flows into the air passage 8through the intake port 6 as shown by the arrow A1. At this time, dustcontained in the outer air is collected by a filter.

The air flown into the air passage 8 via the blowing fan 17 flows insidethe air passage 8 as shown by an arrow A2 (see FIG. 5) and ionsgenerated from the ion generator 18 are included to the air. Then, asshown by the arrow A3, the airflow containing the positive ions and thenegative ions is emitted upward to the head region, etc. of the userfrom the discharge port 7. Therefore, it is possible to easily obtaincoolness either outdoors or indoors, and perform sterilization and odorremoval around the user.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views illustrating a desk-installed state 2 and 3 ofthe portable blower 1 of the present invention, respectively. FIG. 8illustrates a state that the leg 3 is opened to a maximum angle, wherebythe rear surface portion of the housing 2 comes close to the desk so asto make the airflow direction a slightly upward direction from thehorizontal, as shown by the arrow A3. In this regard, such as the use ata bedside during bedtime may be assumed. In addition, FIG. 9 illustratesa state that the leg 3 is opened to about 40°, whereby the dischargeport 7 comes close to the desk. By this state, a downward airflow shownby the arrow A3 can be obtained. In this regard, such as a case ofplacing the portable blower 1 of the present invention on a headboard ora shelf (generally called “Miya”) provided in the headboard, or a caseof placing it on an adjacent shelf during working in a study may beassumed. As the discharge port 7 is provided in a space, that is on thefront side of the housing 2, opposite to a space where the leg 3 ispivoted, that is on the rear side of the housing 2 as seen from a centerline in the thickness direction of the housing 2, the installationmethod and usage are enabled.

Further, it is naturally possible to put the blower on the desk in sucha way that the rear face of the housing 2 directly contacts thereon withthe leg 3 retracted. In this case, the blowing airflow is emitted in asubstantially horizontal direction.

Further, in this embodiment, the leg 3 is formed in the U shape andpivotably supported on both sides of the housing 2, so that the blowerhas a structure in which the ion generator 18 and the battery 19 arecontained in the housing 2 of inside the leg 3. It is possible to changethe shape of the leg 3 by changing the shape of the battery 19.

FIG. 10 is a rear view illustrating an outer appearance of a portableblower 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, a leg 30 is configured to be pivotably supported on asubstantially center portion of a housing 2 and formed in a T shape. Anintake port 6 is positioned on an opposite side of the end portion onwhich the leg is pivotably supported with respect to the retractingsection. The leg 30 is retracted in a recess-shaped retracting sectionwhich is formed on a lid 2 g detachably provided in a rear case 2 b.FIGS. 11A and 11B are a plan view and a side view illustrating the shapeof the leg 30 of a portable blower 1 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, theleg 30 is formed in a T shape by providing a mounting portion forinstallation on one end portion of a leg body portion 30 c of a linearshape. Gears 30 a are provided in the other end of the leg body portion30 c for selectively acquiring opening/closing angles. The gears 30 aare pivotably supported just like the leg 3 and the rotation anglethereof is similarly limited, so as to acquire any opening or closingangle.

Further, the leg 30 may be configured to be an L-shaped leg by providinga mounting portion protruding in one direction on one end of the legbody portion 30 c without having the T shape.

It is possible to carry the portable blower 1 by using the neck strapfor hanging it from the neck of the user. The neck strap is used byfastening it to the attaching portion 2 h provided on the rear case 2 bto be a rear surface of the housing 2. In the state of using the neckstrap, the length of the neck strap may be set so as to position theportable blower 1 adjacent to an upper abdomen from a chest of the user.While it is self-evident, the portable blower 1 has a position in whichthe discharge port 7 faces substantially directly above in this state.When the power switch 5 is turned on in a state that the user carriesthe portable blower 1 hung from the neck thereof or grasps it by a hand,the outer air is guided to the intake port 6 through a gap between theuser and the housing 2. And, the airflow containing ions is sent forthupward from the discharge port 7. Because a position of a human face isslightly forward compared to the position of the human chest duringwalking or sitting, it works dominantly to arrange the discharge port 7biased to the front of the housing 2. Therefore, it is possible toeasily obtain coolness at the time of carrying the portable blower 1,and perform sterilization and odor removal around the user due to theaction of the positive and negative ions.

In addition, the discharge port 7 is provided with a shutter 7 a (seeFIG. 5) which operates in connection with the power switch 5 so as tomake consideration for preventing the intrusion of foreign object. Whenthe portable blower 1 is used by being hung from the head, it isexpected that the discharge port 7 is facing upward. Therefore, it isalso conceivable that a scrap of food or drink may be spilled when theuser is eating, and unfortunately drops into the discharge port 7. Anaccidental event like this may be prevented from occurring by theshutter.

The shutter 7 a will be further described with reference to FIG. 5. Thepower switch 5 is provided with a protrusion penetrating the rear case 2b on the rear surface. When an arm (not shown) of the shutter 7 a isoperated by the protrusion, the position of the shutter 7 a moves to therear case 2 b side. During blowing, the shutter 7 a moves upward of theisolated cavity 22 b formed in the rear case 2 b so as not to obstructthe blowing.

In the above embodiments, only the negative ions may be released by theion generator 18. Thereby, the user may obtain relaxation effects.

According to the present invention, it is possible to be applied in theportable blower, a portable air refresher, or the like including ablowing fan provided in the portable housing.

As this description may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit of essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since thescope is defined by the appended claims rather than by the descriptionpreceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of theclaims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are thereforeintended to be embraced by the claims.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A portable blower comprising: a blowing fan; ahousing which houses the blowing fan; an intake port which is formed inthe housing to suck air by the blowing fan; and a discharge portconfigured to emit the sucked air; wherein the portable blowercomprises: a leg which is pivotably supported on the housing so as tosupport the housing on a setting surface; and a retracting section whichis formed as a concave portion on the housing to retract the leg. 12.The portable blower according to claim 11, wherein the leg is configuredto be pivoted at an angle of less than 180 degrees from a stateretracted in the retracting section.
 13. The portable blower accordingto claim 11, wherein the leg is configured to be pivoted at an angle of90 degrees or more to less than 180 degrees from the state retracted inthe retracting section.
 14. The portable blower according to claim 11,wherein the leg is arranged so as not to block the intake portregardless of whether the leg is in the state retracted in theretracting section or not.
 15. The portable blower according to claim11, wherein the leg is arranged so as not to change an opening area ofthe intake port regardless of whether the leg is in the state retractedin the retracting section or not.
 16. The portable blower according toclaim 11, wherein an upper end portion of the leg is pivotablysupported, and the portable blower includes: a gear provided in theupper end portion concentrically with the leg, a shaft arranged betweenadjacent teeth of the gear, and a spring configured to bias the shaft ina direction where the shaft is pressed against the gear.
 17. Theportable blower according to claim 12, wherein an upper end portion ofthe leg is pivotably supported, and the portable blower includes: a gearprovided in the upper end portion concentrically with the leg, a shaftarranged between adjacent teeth of the gear, and a spring configured tobias the shaft in a direction where the shaft is pressed against thegear.
 18. The portable blower according to claim 13, wherein an upperend portion of the leg is pivotably supported, and the portable blowerincludes: a gear provided in the upper end portion concentrically withthe leg, a shaft arranged between adjacent teeth of the gear, and aspring configured to bias the shaft in a direction where the shaft ispressed against the gear.
 19. The portable blower according to claim 11,wherein the retracting section is formed on a portion other than theintake port and the discharge port.
 20. The portable blower according toclaim 19, wherein the leg is formed in a U shape and each of openingends thereof is pivotably supported, and when the leg is retracted inthe retracting section, the intake port is positioned at the opening endside with respect to the base portion of the leg.
 21. The portableblower according to claim 19, wherein an upper end portion of the leg ispivotably supported, and the intake port is formed on an opposite sideof the upper end portion with respect to the retracting section.
 22. Theportable blower according to claim 12, wherein the retracting section isformed on a portion other than the intake port and the dischargeport,wherein the leg is formed in a U shape and each of opening endsthereof is pivotably supported, and when the leg is retracted in theretracting section, the intake port is positioned at the opening endside with respect to the base portion of the leg.
 23. The portableblower according to claim 12, wherein the retracting section is formedon a portion other than the intake port and the discharge port,whereinan upper end portion of the leg is pivotably supported, and the intakeport is formed on an opposite side of the upper end portion with respectto the retracting section.
 24. The portable blower according to claim13, wherein the retracting section is formed on a portion other than theintake port and the discharge port,wherein the leg is formed in a Ushape and each of opening ends thereof is pivotably supported, and whenthe leg is retracted in the retracting section, the intake port ispositioned at the opening end side with respect to the base portion ofthe leg.
 25. The portable blower according to claim 13, wherein theretracting section is formed on a portion other than the intake port andthe discharge port,wherein an upper end portion of the leg is pivotablysupported, and the intake port is formed on an opposite side of theupper end portion with respect to the retracting section.
 26. Theportable blower according to claim 11, wherein an upper end portion ofthe leg is pivotably supported, and the upper end portion is positionedbetween the intake port and the discharge port in a blowing direction ofthe blowing fan.